Dyyno blows down cost barrier for TV Everywhere

Dyyno today introduced a cloud-based system designed to help service providers start offering TV Everywhere in a few short weeks.

There are a growing number of companies with a cloud-based approach to TV Everywhere services, but Dyyno appears to have a rare, if not unique, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) approach.

The system uses common off-the-shelf quad-core PCs as servers, and for set-tops, any of the new generation of boxes from Chinese manufacturers that run Android will work. Dyyno has Android-based set-top software. The Android-based set-tops will of course run any Android-based app – including programming apps such as Netflix and Hulu Plus.

Dyyno also has its own Android-based electronic program guide app that any operator can white label and its own video encoders that can support nearly any viewing device, including iPads, Samsung Smart TVs, Amazon’s Kindle Fire, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, Roku boxes, PCs and Macs, Google 2.0 Sony-connected TVs, and more, Dyyno CEO Raj Jaswa told CED.

The company is using Amazon’s S3 (Simple Storage Service), Level 3 as a CDN and PayPal to process bill payments, Jaswa said. Dyyno also hosts subscriber management, along with authentication, billing and policy, among other functions. It also provides analytics for its customers.

The system enables content aggregators and owners to stream live TV and video-on-demand (VOD) content to any screen at any level of broadcasting quality up to 1080p HD. The system also enables VOD and network DVR.

The company said that depending on the size and scope of the service, it could help a service provider begin offering services in as little as four to eight weeks (and less than a day for some content aggregators). Hooking the system into an existing billing system, for example, might require a custom integration, Jaswa explained.

The biggest service providers already have their TV Everywhere strategies. Dyyno said its system will scale for everyone else.

In fact, the COTS approach has dropped prices so significantly that it not only puts TV Everywhere within the reach of all but the smallest of service providers, but it also makes it economically attractive for any organization to get into the business of being a content aggregator or a virtual MSO. The only issue is securing legal rights to content.

Dyyno charges a one-time development fee of $1,995 with standard branding, or $25,000 with full branding, on six TV platforms; then there’s a monthly revenue share, the company said.

A small company looking to offer 20 to 25 channels might need to invest in 25 quad-core PCs, set-tops, satellite dishes, and an uplink might have to invest perhaps just over $100,000 to get up and running, Jaswa estimated. A larger company with a more ambitious channel lineup of 150 channels or more might end up investing perhaps $1 million.

The cloud-based Dyyno TV Everywhere solution is already in use by more than 25 content aggregators and virtual MSOs in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

“With Dyyno, we launched our curated TV channels on an iPad, Samsung Smart TV, Roku, PC and private-labeled Android-based STB in a matter of weeks, creating a brand new channel that’s bringing us subscribers globally,” said Max Pekcan, chief operating officer of IPWorld TV, a virtual MSO. “We are also offering these streams on iPads and PCs for our legacy STB users and are very pleased with the results and excellent feedback we’ve received from our content owners and end users alike.”